The present invention relates to a tape recorder which has provisions for recording and detecting a cue signal used for cueing of recorded contents.
Tape recorders which utilize compact cassette and microcassette tapes have widely been used due to their handiness and compactness. In a tape recorder, it is very convenient to utilize a cue signal for searching for the desired recorded contents. For example, assume that five pieces of music as the musical source are recorded on side A of the tape and five kinds of cue signals are recorded (immediately before each piece of music). When a third cue signal is specified and the tape is made to travel in the fast forward or rewinding mode, the beginning of the third piece of music is automatically detected. In this way, when the desired recorded position on the tape is searched for by utilizing a cue signal, the cue signal may be recorded on a track for cue signals only for reliable detection. If the cue signals and music are recorded on the same track, a certain component of the music may affect the search procedure, so that cue signal detection may be erroneously performed. As the prior art in which a special track for cue signals as described above is used, a method for recording and reproducing control signals is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-20131 (1977). However, in a tape recorder to which a microcassette tape with a narrow tape width is mounted, the track for cue signals is rarely employed from the viewpoint of performance and compatibility. If a track for cue signals is formed on part of the tape, the sound track width on the narrow tape becomes narrower.
Two independent recording tracks are formed on a tape for a stereo tape recorder. Assume that one of the recording tracks may be utilized as the track for cue signals only for a short period of time for cueing. Also, assume that, with the tape recorder described above, comments of a conference are recorded in the stereo recording mode. A specific cue signal (e.g., 60 Hz) is recorded on the L channel (left channel) at the beginning of every comment by Mr. A. In this case, the comments of Mr. A are at the same time normally recorded on the R channel (right channel), thus eliminating recording failure of Mr. A's comments while the cue signal is recorded on the left channel. Further, after the cue signal recording is completed, the stereo recording mode is immediately restored.